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Aging: The Gardening Stage

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When we first retired, we wanted to be rid of our garden.  I think we saw it as the link to years of work and getting by financially.   The vegetables carried us through the summer, were sold to fruit stands for extra pocket change and any extra produce was canned for the coming cold winter.  It was a lot of work but a necessity at the time.

Retirement gave us the opportunity to fly away from the responsibility that had kept food on the table and clothes on our back.  Our jobs had provided our homes, educated our children and provided a nest egg for our retirement.  So when freedom came around, we simply did what we wanted to do when we wanted to do.  We did not need to worry about the garden anymore.

The years have gone by and it has been 15 years since we retired.  We have grown and matured as older people.  The process took us through downsizing and RV travel born of restlessness.  We are growing older.  Now we find that we have arrived at that part of our life when we want to garden again.  We want to enjoy the beauty of the flowers, watch them grow and mature.  We want to share its bounty with our family and friends.  The change in us is not as much about how we look or even our health anymore.  It is about our spiritual center.  Contentment and peace is ours.  Our garden is doing just fine.

Have a wonderful day.

b

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Comments

  1. I think it's wonderful that you allowed yourselves to shift and change as your interests changed. Having a period of being commitment free is great. For me that means no meetings. I'm still new to retirement. After some years, I expect that things will change for me as they have for you.

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